Hyderabad: Upputhalla Mallesh, who stole sophisticated weapons, including AK 203 rifles, pistols, magazines and ammunition from the Army in Secunderabad, planned to sell them to gun-runners in West Bengal.
Eight persons, including three serving Army personnel, have been arrested so far in the high-profile case.
The three soldiers were arrested on Saturday, B Sumathi, commissioner of police, Malkajgiri, said.
Mallesh (37), a former Army Havildar from the Nagarkurnool district of Telangana, was arrested on September 11 for the theft of the weapons from the ‘Kote and Battalion Magazine’ at the Secunderabad Cantonment in Bollarum, on the intervening night of August 30 and 31.
He had concealed the cache at his father’s house from where the weapons were recovered intact.
Among those arrested are a cousin of Mallesh’s, his friend and two persons from West Bengal.
“As per the investigation, Mallesh committed the offence with the help of other accused with an intention to commit huge property offences and no terrorist or extremist connections were noticed,” Sumathi said.
Mallesh, who served with the 20 Battalion of the highly decorated Madras Regiment, was retired prematurely from service in June this year due to indiscipline and poor health.
The former soldier, who was previously involved in house burglary cases, hatched a plan with his cousin and his friend, who were facing financial problems, to commit robberies of banks, jewellery shops, and wealthy persons to get wealthy, the commissioner said.
“Mallesh contacted three persons (army personnel) of the regiment and with their support, he broke open the locks of ‘Kote and Magazine’ and committed theft of arms and ammunitions,” she said, as reported by PTI.
Mallesh confessed during interrogation that in 2022, while his Battalion was posted at Barrackpore, near Kolkata, he purchased one country-made firearm and a live round from two persons, both residents of West Bengal.
After their arrest, the duo admitted that Mallesh contacted them and asked whether they would purchase the stolen arms and ammunition and they agreed to do so.